A Rapid Assessment Report: the Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh
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A Rapid Assessment Report The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh Kapaeeng Foundation A Rapid Assessment Report The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh Author Trimita Chakma Editor Pallab Chakma A Rapid Assessment Report The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh June 2020 Author: Trimita Chakma Editor: Pallab Chakma Cover Image: Antar Chakma Commissioned by Kapaeeng Foundation and ILO Published by Kapaeeng Foundation House # 23/25 Salma Garden Road # 4, Shekhertek, PC Culture Housing Society Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207 E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.kapaeengnet.org Design: Tangsree Color System Supported by: Disclaimer: A Rapid Assessment Report: The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh is not an official publication of the ILO and the opinions and terminology used do not reflect the views of the ILO nor imply any endorsement. All contents are ©ILO unless otherwise indicate. Text and photographs that are ©ILO may be freely reproduced unedited and for non-commercial purposes with an appropriate credit, unless otherwise specified. Acknowledgement The whole world is going through a critical time in the period of the COVID-19 outbreak. In Bangladesh too, vulnerable groups like indigenous peoples, are leading miserable lives in the ongoing pandemic situation at the face of food shortages, loss of livelihoods, unemployment, limited access to healthcare services, little or no government relief etc. Indigenous peoples both in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and the plains, are bearing the brunt of this crisis due to the countrywide shutdown, closure of education institutions and offices, and movement restrictions, even though these measures could not stop the spread of the COVID-19 cases. Through this study we intended to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of the indigenous peoples in the country. We would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to Trimita Chakma for her contribution in producing this report. We express our special gratitude and appreciation to our colleague Khokon Suiten Murmu and intern Krishna Khisa for helping us with conducting interviews with the respondents over the phone as well transcribing them with patience. We greatly appreciate Kapaeeng Foundation’s organizational networks and partners across the country for providing us updated data and information. We are grateful to Alexius Chicham, National Programme Coordinator of International Labour Organization (ILO), for his valuable inputs on the report. We would also like to extend our gratitude to European Commission (EC) and International Labour Organization (ILO) for supporting the initiative. Last but not the least, we sincerely appreciate Pallab Chakma, Executive Director of Kapaeeng Foundation, for leading the production of this report. Rabindranath Soren Chairperson Kapaeeng Foundation A Rapid Assessment Report : The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh 3 Acronyms ASUS Anagrasar Samaj Unnayan Sangstha BIWN Bangladesh Indigenous Women Network CBO Community Based Organisations CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts DC Deputy Commissioner EC European Commission EPZ Export Processing Zone EU European Union FPIC Free Prior Informed Consent ILO International Labour Organization IWGIA International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs ITPs Indigenous and Tribal Peoples KMKS Khagrapur Mohila Kallyan Samiti PASKOP Patra Sampradai Kollyan Porishad PCJSS Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti PM Prime Minister PMRF Prime Minister Relief Fund SDGs Sustainable Development Goals UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDRIP United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 4 A Rapid Assessment Report : The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh Table of contents Introduction 6 Methodology 8 Findings 8 Community resilience towards COVID 19 8 1 Case Study: The indigenous traditional customs of lockdown in CHT 9 Inadequate government measures to support the ITPs 11 Loss of livelihoods and income 13 Increased food insecurity and starvation 15 Debt and exacerbation of poverty 16 2 Case Study: The impact of COVID-19 on Maal Pahari community in Gokulnagar, Natore 16 Lack of access to health services 17 Disruptions to education 18 Human rights violations 18 Intimidation and harassment 18 Land grabbing amid Covid-19 19 Violence against indigenous women and girls 19 Recommendations 20 Conclusion 22 A Rapid Assessment Report : The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh 5 Introduction Bangladesh is home to over 501 indigenous and tribal peoples (ITPs) living in different parts of the country, which constitute approximately 1- 2%2 of the total population. The ITPs have their district languages, cultures and heritage and primarily live in the delta region of the country or “the plains”, as well as in the South-Eastern part of the country known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). ITPs from both the plains and the hills have been deprived from socio-economic development for a long time. A recent study3 revealed that several socio-economic indicators such as health, education, household level income, food consumption, participation and women’s empowerment remain below the national average for ITPs. For instance, poverty rate among ITPs in Bangladesh is above 80 per cent4 in the plains and 65 per cent in the CHT, which is higher than the national average of 20.5 per cent. Compared to the national average, the average income of ITPs is 26 per cent less in CHT and 41 per cent less in the plains.5 Traditionally, the livelihoods of rural indigenous communities mostly depended on subsistence farming. Due to the increasing dispossession of land and resources caused by conflict, land grabbing and climate change, their livelihoods have become highly vulnerable.6 The worsening economic conditions drove many of them to out-migrate in urban areas and take up seasonal or contractual work in precarious working conditions thus forcing them to live in perpetual marginalization and poverty.7 In addition, they are regularly subjected to identity-based discrimination and human rights violations. For instance, many Garo women migrate to the cities in search of employment and end up working as domestic help or in beauty parlours. Even though they perform the same work, they receive a lower wage than their Bengali 1 As reported by IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. https://www.iwgia.org/en/bangladesh 2 According to the estimation by Bangladesh Adivasi Forum (BIPF), known as the apex advocacy and networking organization of the Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh 3 Toufique. K.A., Mondal, A.H., Yunus, M. Chakma, S. & Farook, S. (2017). Report on Baseline Assessment of Skills and Employment of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and ILO. 4 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Household Survey 2019. Retrieved from http://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/5695ab85_1403_483a_afb4_26dfd767df18/2019-12- 17-16-30-614e10bcb101bc1df5938723cc141c5d.pdf 5 Kapaeeng Foundation. Indigenous Navigator Bangladesh Factsheet (p.03). http://www.nav.indigenousnavigator.com/images/Documents/Factsheets/Bangladesh_Factsheet_Final.pdf 6 Toufique. K.A., Mondal, A.H., Yunus, M. Chakma, S. & Farook, S. (2017). Report on Baseline Assessment of Skills and Employment of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and ILO. 7 Ibid. 6 A Rapid Assessment Report : The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Bangladesh counterparts. A large number of indigenous women are also hired in the garment factories in the EPZs near Dhaka and Chittagong because they are not unionized and do not demand better wages or other benefits.8 The above described challenging situation of the ITPs has been exacerbated by the recent global crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after the government declared a country wide shutdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 on 26 March 2020, the ITPs living in rural areas started facing a crisis of food shortage. On 8 April 2020, the media reported some 30 families in Kapru Para area in Lama Upazila of Bandarban district in CHT had nothing but to eat wild potatoes from nearby jungle as they were forced to undergo self-isolation.9 This was followed by an unprecedented crisis of food insecurity spreading across other remote villages all over the country, impacting millions of vulnerable indigenous communities. In response to the crisis of food shortage, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, Jatiya Adivasi Parishad and Kapaeeng Foundation — three organizations working for the rights of Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh — issued a joint press release10 on 12 April 2020 urging the government and other welfare organisations to provide food assistance to the starving indigenous population. The press statement reported many indigenous communities across the country were facing severe food crisis due to the loss of livelihoods as a result of the shutdown, most of whom are daily wage earners; only a small proportion of the ITP population received any form of relief. These communities were: the Hajong and Banai community in Nalitabari, Dhobaura, Durgapur, Kolmakanda, Maddyanagar and Taherpur, nearly 1.5 million peoples from 38 indigenous communities living in 13 districts in Rajshahi and Rangpur, tea garden workers in